Sterling basks in glow of May's Brexit speech; stocks slip

The British pound consolidated gains on Wednesday after posting its biggest rise in nearly two decades in the previous session, while Asian stocks are set to drift lower following a weak Wall Street. Sterling saw its biggest daily rise since at least 1998 on Tuesday as Prime Minister Theresa May promised a parliamentary vote on Britain's deal to leave the EU and sought to draw a line under discussion of a "hard" or "soft" Brexit. It was trading at 1.2392 against the dollar in early Asian hours a